Lazio 2-0 Atromitos: Taty Castellanos Sees Red in Anything but ‘Friendly’ | OneFootball

At the Stadio Centro d’Italia in Rieti, Lazio took on Atromitos in their last pre-season contest, and it was anything but a ‘friendly’.

Lazio Starting Lineup

Maurizio Sarri maintained his 4-3-3 formation, but he continues to tinker with the lineup. This time, it was Christos Mandas’ turn to start in goal, while the backline was constituted of Manuel Lazzari, Mario Gila, Oliver Provstgaard and Luca Pellegrini.

In midfield, Danilo Cataldi operated between Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Matteo Guendouzi, while Taty Castellanos was flanked by Mattia Zaccagni and Matteo Cancellieri up front.

Chaotic First Half

Lazio had the bulk of the chances, as they asserted their authority from the get-go, but couldn’t break the resilient Greek in the first half. Instead, the most notable incidents of the whole first period were back-to-back brawls around the half-hour mark.

Matteo Guendouzi Involved in First Spat

On the first occasion, Guendouzi and Joaquin Ruiz were the main protagonists, as the latter jumped to defend his teammate Ismahila Ouédraogo, who was hit but the Biancocelesti’s French midfielder. In the end, they each received a booking, and it was the end of the matter.

Taty Castellanos Receives Marching Orders

However, the shaky ceasefire was swiftly breached a few minutes later when Castellanos reacted angrily to a foul by Luiz, and it resulted in a brawl between the Argentinian striker and Atromitos defender Mansur, which prompted a full-blown melee, with the two benches getting involved as well.

Although both players were sent off, this wasn’t the end of the unsavory scenes in Rieti, as the duo took their brawl to the tunnel, with the two benches following suit. After a few minutes of utter chaos, order was belatedly restored.

Peaceful Second Half

Thankfully, football prevailed in the second half, with no unsporting actions to speak of. Lazio were still the better side, with Zaccagni being their main source of danger. The club captain caused havoc in the final third, forcing Alexei Koșelev to produce a superb save in the 73rd minute.

Tijjani Noslin Scores the First for Lazio

It only took Tijjani Noslin three minutes on the pitch to break the deadlock. Adam Marusic delivered a sublime cross to the box, and the Dutchman directed a powerful header past the goalkeeper.

Pedro Adds Another Goal for Lazio

In the final minutes, Ognjen Ožegović thought he had equalised for the Greek side, but his goal was disallowed for offside. On the contrary, it was Lazio who doubled their lead thanks to a wonderful piece of skill from Pedro who dribbled his way between the opposition defenders before placing a left-footed shot in the net.

What’s Next for Lazio

Lazio managed to finish their pre-season with back-to-back wins over Burnley and Atromitos. So it remains to be seen how they’ll fare when the more serious action begins next weekend and they clash heads with Como on the first matchday of the Serie A campaign.

Lazio 2-0 Atromitos

Scorers: 77′ Noslin (L), 90′ Pedro (L)

Lazio (4-3-3): Mandas (46′ Provedel); Lazzari (46′ Marusic), Gila (86′ Hysaj), Provstgaard (73′ Romagnoli), Pellegrini (57′ Nuno Tavares); Dele-Bashiru (46′ Dia), Cataldi (57′ Rovella), Guendouzi (86′ Basic); Cancellieri (65′ Pedro), Castellanos, Zaccagni (73′ Noslin).

Referee: Francesco Forneau (Roma 1 section); Assistants: Marco Scatragli – Emanuele Yoshikawa.

Yellow cards: Guendouzi (L), Ruiz (A).

Sent off: Castellanos (L), Lima Santos (A).